Tricycle with steerable rear wheels



1961 E. w. RICH 2,995,384

TRICYCLE WITH STEERABLE REAR WHEELS Filed March 24, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet1 'IIIIIII'i-J I/ E Vere/I M. R/th 1N VENTOR.

BY @mwiu WWW Em Aug. 8, 1961 E. w. RICH TRICYCLE WITH STEEIRABLE REARWHEELS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 24, 1959 .m R W 0 a a V E INVENTOR.BY fiawy 3% 2,995,384 TRICYCLE WITH STEERABLE REAR WHEELS Everett W.Rich, 424 W. Pardee Lane, Stockton, Ealif. Filed Mar. 24, 1959, Ser. No.801,575 Claims. (Cl. 280-269) The present invention generally relates toa wheeled toy and more particularly to an occupant propelled vehicle ofthe velocipede or tricycle type in that there are three sup portingwheels and the vehicle is driven by offset pedals on the forward wheel.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a wheeled toygenerally in the form of a tricycle in which the two rear wheels arepivotal about a vertical axis or kingpin for controlling the directionof movement of the vehicle with the front wheel being rotatable butnon-pivotal in relation to the main frame of the vehicle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wheeled toy inthe form of a tricycle in which the steering control is provided by ahandle bar assembly which pivots about an inclined longitudinal axiswith the main frame member of the wheeled toy receiving a steering rodfor steering control of the rear wheels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wheeled toy inaccordance with the preceding objects in which the handle bar assemblyis generally disposed in a vertical plane with the same being swingableabout a generally longitudinal axis together with a device forindicating the degree of bank or tilt of the handle bar assembly thusindicating the degree of turning of the rear wheels.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a wheeledtoy in which the seat and front powered wheels maintain a constantrelationship with each other thereby providing a direct thrust on thepedals without the necessity of flexing the legs sideways as occurs ina. conventional tricycle in which the front wheel is steerable.

Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide a wheeled toythat is much more stable than conventional tricycles which have thefront wheel pivotal about an inclined vertical axis which enters acamber factor into the steering of the vehicle which quite often resultsin overturning of a conventional tricycle with the present inventiondiffering from the conventional tricycle and overcoming this problem byproviding rear steerable wheels.

Still another important object of the present invention is the provisionof a wheeled toy which is ultra-modern in construction and appearance,safe in operation, long lasting and dependable, adjustable for differentsize children by varying the seat position longitudinally of the frame,adjustable as to orientation of the front fork, constructed to simulatean aircraft such as a jet plane, easy to propel and relativelyinexpensive to manufacture. These together with other objects andadvantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the detailsof construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described andclaimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a parthereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the wheeled toy with a portion of theframe broken away showing the steering rod;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the construction of FIGURE 1;

' FIGURE 3 is a rear view of the wheeled toy;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken substantiallyupon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE 1 illustrating themechanism for providing steering control for the rear wheels;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 5-5 of Patented Aug. 8, 1961 FIGURE 1illustrating further structural details of the steering mechanism forthe rear wheels;

FIGURE 6 is a partial front view of the steering rod, handle barassembly and front wheel bracket; and

FIGURE 7 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 7-7 of FIGURE 3 illustrating furtherstructural details of the handle bar assembly and the simulatedinstrument panel mounted thereon.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates the wheeled vehicle of the present invention which includes agenerally vertically disposed handle bar member generally designated bythe numeral 12, a front wheel assembly generally designated by thenumeral 14, a frame assembly generally designated by the numeral 16 anda rear or steerable wheel assembly generall designated by the numeral18.

The frame 16 includes an elongated tubular member 20 which is disposedlongitudinally and which is upwardly inclined from front to rear. At therear end of the tubular member 20 there is provided an inverted U-shapedframe member 22 secured to the tubular member 20 as by welding or thelike designated by the numeral 24. At the forward end of the tubularmember 20, there is provided an inverted U-shaped bracket 26 secured tothe undersurface of the tubular member 20 as by welding 28 or the like.

Mounted on the tubular member 20 is a seat 30 having a generally ovalshaped main portion 32 and a forwardly projecting narrow portion 34which is substantially conventional in shape. The seat 30 is providedwith the usual supporting frame 36 and resilient supporting springs 3-8.The supporting frame 36 is provided with a depending clamp 40 in theform of a split clamp which is mounted on the tubular member 20 andclamped thereon in longitudinally adjusted position by a clamp bolt 42.Secured to the seat by any suitable means and extending upwardly aboveand arcuately around the back edge of the seat is a curved rod 44 whichgenerally follows the contour of the oval shaped portion 32 but isdisposed above the surface of the seat thus forming generally a backrest and stop for a person disposed on the seat so that forward thrustmay be provided by the person sitting on the seat 30 without the personsliding rearwardly off of the seat. As the seat 30 is longitudinallyadjustable on the tubular member 20, the wheeled toy may be used bychildren having different length legs or as a child gets older, the seatmay be moved farther rearwardly on the tubular member 20.

Pivotally attached to and extending downwardly from each leg of theU-shaped bracket is a support arm 46 secured to the bracket 26 by pivotpin or bolt 48. In spaced relation to the pin 48 is an anchor bolt 50which will engage one of a series of arcuately arranged apertures 52 inthe bottom edge of the legs of the U-shaped bracket 26 which areenlarged as designated by themmeral 54. The lower end of the members 46journal the front axle assembly 56 carrying the front wheel and tire 58thereon with the axle also having crank arms 60 attached thereto withpedals 62 being rotatable on the outer end thereof whereby pressureexerted on the pedals 62 will cause rotation of the front wheel 58 in aconventional manner. The front wheel 68 is provided with the usualarcuate fender 64 which is generally U-shaped in crosssection and whichis supported by supporting shields 66 attached to the members 46 and tothe fender 64 by suitable fasteners 68. Thus, the front wheel assembly14 will not pivot about any axis but will be rotatable when the pedals62 are driven. The adjustment provided by the bolt 50 and apertures 52permits the wheel 58 to be lowered in relation to the frame 16 therebypermitting the tubular member 20 to be inclined at different angles.This also orientates the pedals so that substantially a straight forwardthrust may be provided and due to the rigidity between the tubularmember 20, the bracket 26, the members 46 and the wheel axle, the lineof thrust exerted on the pedals 62 will always be longitudinal and willremain the same since the wheel 58 does not pivot about a generallyvertical axis as in conventional tricycles.

The handle bar assembly is attached to the forward reduced end '79 of anelongated steering. control rod '72 rotatably received in the tubularmember 20. The handle bar assembly 12 includes a depending member 74clamped onto the flattened reduced end 72 by a split clamp with a clampbolt 76 therefor. Extending upwardly from the member 74 is a pair ofoutwardly and armately curved members 78 which are interconnected by atoparcuately curved member 80 with the arcuate member 81 having a pairof hand grips 82 thereon.-

The area of the handle bar assembly defined by the curved rod 78 and therod 80 is -filled in by a piece of high impact plastic 84 which iscurved to conform to the curvature of the arcuate members 78 and curvesin the manner illustrated in FEGURES 1 and 7. The side edges of themember 84 which are defined by the numeral 86 are spaced from the handgrips 82- to permit free access to the hand grips 82.

The portion of the plate 84 lying generally in' the same plane has thearcuate member 80 secured thereto by brackets 83* and fasteners 90.Mounted on. this portion of the member 34 are three meters ordialsdesignated by the numerals 92, 94 and 96. In each of the dials ormeters 92 and 9d, the needles 98 are heavier on the bottom side and arepivoted so that they will be activated when the handle bar assembly ispivoted about the steering rod 72. Each of the dials or metersisprovided with an: arcuate plastic cover 100' and the center meter 94-is provided with an angle of bank graduations 102 at the upper edgethereof and the needle 104 is weighted at its bottom for indicating theangle of inclination of the handle. bar assembly. Below the center areaof the meter 94', there is provided a red head 106 and a smallerspherical ball bearing member 108 which are freely rotatable under thecover 100 and since they are of different diameters they travel indifferent radii and being'of different weight will seldom line up thussimulating a radar screen which is activated by the tilting of thehandle bar assembly.

Now referring particularly to FIGURES 4 and 5, the steering wheelassembly 18- includes a. depending kingpin 110 extending downwardlyfrom. the lower end of each depending leg of the inverted U-shaped framemember 22. Each kingpin 114} receives a sleeve 112 rotatably thereon andthe sleeve 112 is heldin positioniby a washer 114- and a transverse pin116. Rigidly afiixed to the sleeve 112 is a generally L-shaped wheelsupport member 11% having one leg 120 forming an axle for a rear wheel122. The other end of the L-shaped support memher 118 is connected to anelongated tie bar. or rod 124 by virtue of a vertical pin 126 whichextends through the end of the tie bar 124 and through the end of thesupport member 118 and also through a bracket member 128 attached to thetie bar 124' and underlying the flattened end of the L-shaped supportmember 118'. The pin 126 is held in position by a transverse retainerpin such as a cotter pin designated by-th'e-numeral 130.

Intermediate the ends of the tie bar. 124, there is an upstandingvertically elongated lug 132. having an elongated slot 134 formedtherein. The slot 134 receives a forwardly prejecting pin 136 carried byan offset support ar1n'13'3 rigidly atfixed'to the rear end of. thesteering rod 72. Thus, rotation of the steering'rod 72 aboutits'longitudinal axis will cause arcuate swinging movement of the arm133 in an axis perpendicular theretoand willcause the pint136 to swingabout the centenoft'rotation of the steeringro'd 72. It is noted thatthe pin 136 iS'fnOt perpendicular to the arm 138. Rather; the pin 136isperpendicular to the lug 132" for maintaining aperpendicular relationto the. lug 1'32 for-operation of the same so that the lug 4 132 will becaused to move laterally and slightly longitudinally as the L-shapedsupport members 118 pivot about the vertical axes defined by the pins110.

T he L-shaped support member 118 also supports a pair of rear wheelenclosures or fenders 140 by brackets 1 12 and the rear wheel enclosuresor fenders 140 may simulate an appearance the aft section of a jet planeincluding an open exhaust section 144 at the rear end thereof. Providedon the tubular member- 20 adjacent the forward end thereof is a suitablebell or other noise maker 1% supported by a clamp 148 and having anoperating handle 150 extending vertically thereabove whereby depressionof the operating handle 150 will cause operation of the noise producingmechanism 146 which may be in the form of a bell, siren or the like.Extending forwardly from the handle bar assembly adjacent the element 74is a support arm 152 having" an upstanding support member 154 mountedthereon together witha rotatable member 156 generally in theconfiguration of an anemometer for determining wind velocity. The entireconstruction may be attractively coloredand will generally carry out theaeronautical motive. V I

The adjustment of the front fork enables the frame to be used as achassis for a small sidewalk car when the fork is extended. This enablesthe driving pedal arrangement to be used in this type of car therebyeliminating the use of chain and sprocket drives along with brackets andchain guards for retaining the cost at a minimum. Since the front wheeldoes not turn for steeringcontrol from side to side, a relatively smallbody may be placed around the front wheel which may be styled as arocket or aircraft. 7

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown and'described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new isas follows: A

1. A wheeled toy comprising an elongated frame member, a frontwheeldisposed at the forward end of the frame member, means mounting thefront wheel for rotation about a horizontal axis and rigid in relationto a vertical axis,- a pair of rear wheels, means supporting each of therear wheels on the rear end of the frame member for rotation of each ofthe rear wheels about ahorizontal axis and pivotal movement of each ofthe rear wheels about a vertical axis for steering the vehicle, a handlebar assembly mounted at the forward end of the frame memher andconnected with the rear wheels for steering control of the same, a seaton the frame member, and pedals attached to the front wheel forpropelling. the vehicle whereby the rear wheels may be steered forcontrolling the path of movement of'the vehicle, said frame member beingtubular and saidhandlebar assembly including an elongated steering rodrotatabl'e in said frame member, said steering rod having an offset armon the rear end thereof and a handle bar connected to-the' front end,said rear wheels being supported on vertical kingpins supported from theframe member, each rear wheel having an offset steering arm, said armsbeinginterconnected by a tie bar, and means interconnecting the offsetarm on the steering rod and the'tie bar for transmitting the'rotationalmovement of the steering rod about its longitudinal axis to lateraltransverse movement of the tie bar for pivoting both of'the'rear wheelsin the'same'direction at -the' same time.

2. The structure as defined'in claim 1 wherein said handle bar extendssubstantiallyin a vertical plane and includes generally two hand gripsdisposed in a vertical plane for rotationabout the axis-of the steeringrod, said handle bar including a bank angle indicator" mounted thereonfor indicating the degreeof tilt of the-handlebar for indicating thedegree of pivotal movement of the rear wheels.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said frame member isinclined downwardly towards the rear wheels, means securing the seat tosaid inclined frame member in longitudinally adjusted relation wherebythe distance from the seat to the pedals may be varied for orientatingthe seat in the desired spaced relation to the pedals for optimumexertion of pressure on the pedals by the occupant of the seat.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with an enclosure forthe upper portion of each rear wheel, means supporting the enclosure forpivotal movement about said vertical axis with the respective rearwheels.

5. A wheeled toy comprising an elongated frame member, a front wheeldisposed at the forward end of the frame member, means mounting thefront wheel for rotation about a horizontal axis and rigid in relationto a vertical axis, a pair of rear wheels, means supporting each of therear wheels on the rear end of the frame member for rotation of each ofthe rear wheels about a horizontal axis and pivotal movement of each ofthe rear wheels about a vertical axis for steering the vehicle, a handlebar assembly mounted at the forward end of the frame member andconnected with the rear wheels for steering control of the same, a seaton the frame member, and pedals attached to the front wheel forpropelling the vehicle whereby the rear wheels may be steered forcontrolling the path of movement of the vehicle, said means forsupporting the front wheel from the frame member including a rigiddepending bracket, and a pair of arms pivotally attached to the bracketand straddling the wheel and connected to the front axle, said armsbeing adjustable angularly in relation to the bracket, and means forlocking the arms in angular adjusted position thereby changing theelevation of the front end of the frame member and changing the entiresilhouette thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS305,080 Judd et al Sept. 16, 1884 2,207,161 Roe July 9, 1940 2,311,424Weller Feb. 16, 1943 2,755,095 Douglas et a1 July 17, 1956 2,764,423Gaddie Sept. 25, 1956 2,812,194 Ajero Nov. 5, 1957 2,948,551 Du Val-1Aug. 9, 1960

